Young Mother Of 3 Dies In Hospital

Woman Had Baby While In Coma, Never Regained Consciousness

Robin Jewell Martin, a young mother whose fight for life touched the community, died peacefully Tuesday at the University of Connecticut Medical Center after more than three weeks in a coma.

Among her children, she leaves a daughter who shares her name: Mackenzie Robin Martin, the baby was delivered April 24 while Robin, 27, lay deeply sedated in a losing battle against pneumonia and leukemia.

FOR THE RECORD - Correction was published on Friday May 21, 1999 on Page A2.* Robin Jewell Martin, the young mother who died Tuesday after more than three weeks in a coma, was from Manchester. Her town of residence was incorrect in an item on Page 1 Wednesday.

Her plight drew an emotional response from friends and strangers alike, stunned by the capricious fates that left a vibrant, athletic young mother fighting in a hospital bed for her own life and that of her unborn child.

Robin Martin never regained consciousness or got to hold her newborn daughter. But Mackenzie and her sisters, 2-year-old Abigail and 5- year-old Shelby, will grow up knowing the depths of their mother's love, Robin's family pledges.

``When the baby comes home, we'll all be together and we'll take it from there,'' said Kevin Martin, who was at his wife's bedside with her twin sister, Jody Jewell, and other family members when Robin died Tuesday after being eased off a ventilator.

Robin Martin of Manchester was diagnosed in February with leukemia during her fifth month of pregnancy. The pneumonia surfaced in April, and the coma was induced April 23 so all of her energy could be directed toward fighting the pneumonia and lengthening the pregnancy.

However, her oxygen level dropped during the first day of the coma and her baby's vital signs dipped, forcing an emergency delivery on April 24.

Despite being born two months early, the little girl weighed more than 3 pounds and has now passed 5 pounds. Her progress has amazed doctors and her family.

Martin's doctors and family are unsure whether she knew the baby had been born, although they kept pictures by Robin's bed and constantly told her how well her baby was doing.

Ever since a story appeared last week in The Courant about the family's plight, donations and gifts have been pouring in from throughout Connecticut. Police officers have also rallied with financial and emotional support for Kevin Martin, who has been a Glastonbury officer for almost 18 years.

Gifts that were donated over the past several weeks will be raffled off at fund-raisers on June 5 and July 6, both of which will raise money to cover the family's expenses.

A candy store in Avon also sent 20 Beanie Babies and grab bags to brighten Shelby's 5th birthday party, Kevin Martin said. He even received a call from the CBS television network, which was considering a story about the family for its news magazine ``CBS News 48 Hours.''

Kevin Martin said Tuesday that as his wife's condition deteriorated over the past few days, he had been preparing his daughters for the possibility that their mother might not come home.

He plans to break the news to them today with help from family and a Manchester police officer who is specially trained in bereavement and grief counseling.

``It's just all happened so fast,'' he said.

Robin Martin was a Glastonbury native and lived in Manchester at the time of her death. In addition to her husband, she is survived by her three daughters; a 10-year-old stepson, Andrew; and many family members and close friends.

Glastonbury Funeral Home is handling the arrangements, and services are expected to be held Friday.